The division Bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of a petition filed by Lavasa Corporation against the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) till Tuesday. This was after Chief Justice Mohit Shah, who, along with Justice S J Kathawala, was hearing the case, informed the lawyers that he would not hear the case as one of his relatives was advising Lavasa Corporation on its IPO and there could be a conflict of interest. The petition will now be heard on Tuesday by a division Bench headed by justice DK Deshmukh. Lavasa had recently received a regulatory approval for a Rs 2,000 crore IPO. Kotak Investment Banking and ICICI Securities are the merchant bankers for the IPO.
Lavasa had challenged the show-cause notice issued by the ministry alleging that the former had not secured environmental clearances before starting construction activity at its hill-city township project in Mulshi and Velha talukas, Pune.
Shares of Ajit Gulabchand-promoted Hindustan Construction Co, that owns 65% in Lavasa, were 1.43% down on Monday to close at Rs 44.90 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.